Swiggy Ltd. on Thursday announced plans to launch a standalone application for its quick-commerce arm Instamart. At present, the service is offered through the unified Swiggy app.
While making the announcement in a media release, Swiggy also noted that Instamart services are now available in 76 cities across India.
"As one of Swiggy's flagship services, Instamart will continue to be accessible via Swiggy's unified platform, where it has delivered rapid growth in the past year," the company clarified.
The standalone app, however, provides users an "even more direct experience", as if offers "greater convenience" by ensuring quicker access to the quick-commerce service, it added.
"Instamart will remain a key offering within the Swiggy app, helping us amass the cross-pollination benets of a unified app. The standalone app will be an add-on, augmenting our reach by meeting consumers where they are, and ensuring we continue delivering the best possible experience in the category," Swiggy Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Sriharsha Majety said.
This is not Swiggy's first foray into standalone apps, even as the company has built three major businesses—food delivery, quick commerce, and dining out on its unified platform. An Instamart-first shortcut for the Swiggy app has already been available on the Android PlayStore.
Swiggy previously launched standalone apps for services such as Swiggy Daily and InsanelyGood, as well as for its restaurant reservation platform, Dineout.
'Rapid Growth Trajectory'
According to Swiggy's top management, Instamart is witnessing a "rapid growth trajectory", and is poised to record a further acceleration in user adoption.
"While it's been clear for a while now that Swiggy Instamart is set to match food delivery (business) in size, recent developments show it's on track to surpass food delivery in both penetration and scale," Majety said.
The positive reception in new cities and categories suggests Instamart could achieve "far greater user adoption", going well beyond 100 million users, the Swiggy Group CEO added.
"Instamart is on a rapid growth trajectory, offering a compelling value proposition with 10-minute deliveries and an expanding range of nearly 50,000 products," said Amitesh Jha, the CEO of Instamart.
The launch of the Instamart app ensures seamless adoption and access to the service in a category "that we believe we have only scratched the surface of," he added.
Swiggy's shares rose to a high of 6.28% to Rs 521.40 apiece. However, they pared gains to trade 2.36% higher at Rs 502.20 apiece, as of 02:24 p.m. This compared to a 0.65% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.
The company's stock has risen 10.13% in the last 12 months.
Out of 12 analysts tracking the company, seven maintain a 'buy' rating, two recommend a 'hold,' and three suggest 'sell,' according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 15.9%
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